I ran across an old and beautiful (not to mention HUGE) coffee urn in front of a Portland antique store today. Just like a magpie, shiny objects catch my eye — so I stopped to check it out.

It’s become a running joke that there’s always a San Francisco angle, and sure enough there was … and a sort of mystery as well: the metal label affixed to the side reads as follows:

WESTINGHOUSE
SAN FRANCISCO
STEAM COFFEE URN

My first thought: “Westinghouse had a factory in San Francisco?” But then I saw that the thing had been manufactured in Ohio.

So, it’s a “San Francisco Steam Coffee Urn” … that “Steam” instantly put me in mind of the local beer style; could there have been an analogous coffee style — “San Francisco steam coffee” — unique and well-known enough to warrant a national brand?

Hmm.

I can just picture it: Dashiell Hammett slouching at the counter in a cheap Eddy Street diner, scowling down at his reflection in a chipped mug full of black, acidic San Francisco steam? I can feel the chill of the fog, the warmth of that steaming mug of “San Francisco steam” … Oh yeah. That’s got to be it.

So how come I’ve never heard of it?

The owner of the shop wasn’t around, so its provenance is a mystery. It does occur to me that “SAN FRANCISCO” might just be a model name, and that “steam” simply refers to some generic brewing method, but how disappointing would that be? I’m sticking to my much more romatic interpretation, thank you very much. (And if anyone cares to burst my bubble, this blog sports a nifty “comments” function.)

If you’d like to nip up to the Pacific Northwest and take this relic home, it’s right here — and the price tag is $600.

8 responses to “san francisco steam coffee?”

“Upon his return to San Francisco in 1865, James became a full partner of The Pioneer Steam Coffee and Spice Mills. In 1872, James bought out the other partners, renaming the company J. A. Folger & Co.”

FYI: In that link to google books – the mill was between stockton and dupont (grant). But there is no trace of any old factories left in that area – I guess the 1906 earthquake wiped out the last of that…

Of course, I didn’t read far enough! The Broadway location was where the steam mill was built after being forced to move from the Powell shop with its over-taxed hand-cranked mill. I love the detail about attempting to use power from a Telegraph Hill windmill – I’m picturing some serious Rube Goldberg machinery there …

I’m sure you’re right about the ’06 fire wiping out any trace of the Broadway mill – take a look at this map of the extent of the fire’s reach; that stretch of Broadway is well within the boundary.

Windmills on Telegraph Hill – that brings up a whole alternative-history scenario of what SF could have looked like. And a very romantic scenario at that. Let’s put that one into the list of ideas for a novel. :)

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